


Along Their Skin

by orphan_account



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Multi, Soulmate AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-03
Updated: 2014-12-18
Packaged: 2018-02-07 07:22:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1890030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>resplendentri said:<br/>Baby’s first prompt here goes- There’s a post going around for a soulmate AU where the first words that your soulmate will ever say to you is tattooed somewhere on your body and I think that with the AH idiots the potential for hilarity is astronomical SO I GUESS MY PROMPT IS: OT6 Soulmate AU based on the idea of the first words that your soulmate(s) will ever say to you being tattooed somewhere on your body.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ray

**Author's Note:**

> Special shoutout to K for helping me with Ray's sentences.

Ray is covered in a plethora of words- he’s got five soul sentences and absolutely none of them are really appropriate. On the bright side, most of them are in easily covered spots. The only one that can sometimes be a bit harder to cover runs down his left arm. It’s one of the one he has to try his hardest to cover though, because it’s one he used to get in trouble for a lot. It’s not like he chose to have it on his arm, yet it always seemed to be his fault for having it anyways. 

His left arm read “You stupid motherfucker, if you could maybe stop jacking off and start using the damn sniper rifle maybe we’ll get a single fucking point!”

Honestly, Ray had always thought you had to meet your soul mate in person. That whatever they first said to you when your eyes locked was what would be your sentence. But apparently it didn’t always work out like that. He’d been playing halo and whoever was hosting had shitty internet because he was lagging badly. He couldn’t even switch from his first load out without being killed immediately because by the time the lag for him had stopped, everyone else was still running around normally. It really wasn’t his fault, but he was getting tired of respawning with the same useless sniper rifle when someone came on mic to yell at him.

Ray met Michael Jones through a video game, and he never thought the first words he’d ever say to a soulmate would be “Want me to start jacking off the sniper rifle or?”

Michael had sent him a message with nothing but a skype user name and the two of them started talking regularly. They never brought up soul mates and Ray would spend the idle times in their conversations wondering if his words were written on Michael. If they were as annoying to hide as his were- if Michael also had four others written on him- or if he was just a freak case and didn’t actually have a soul mate. He never dwelled on the thought for long, it was too depressing to think about. Instead he wondered if he’d ever meet Michael in person. If he’d ever get to hear the other sentences that scrawled across his body. He wondered if all of his soul mates would be as passionate about video games as he was. 

On the right side of his chest, Ray had the words “If you don’t pick up right now, I swear I’m hiring someone else.”

Even though he’d been talking to Geoff on aim for months, those were the first words he’d ever actually heard from the man’s mouth. The first to be directed straight at him, on a call. He actually had gone quiet for a whole minute in shock before he finally responded with “Hang on a second, I’m flabbergasted over here!” They spoke for a while about soul mates- about how Geoff couldn’t believe that all of his soul mates were going to be so young. They spent an hour talking about all of it, instead of talking about Ray’s new job like they were supposed to.

Ray was excited to move to Austin, but he was overwhelmed.

He’d never actually expected Geoff to say yes. He’d never actually expected to get hired, to get the chance, to have a place to stay offered to him. He’d never expected to be accepted so earnestly even before Geoff had found out they were soulmates. Before he even fully moved over they planned a date- a day where he’d get to meet everyone else. Ray spent the night before his flight wondering if Michael knew now? If they’d accept him just as quickly as Geoff? If they even cared about whatever sentences were scrawled across them?

His right shoulder read, “Oh Jesus, I’m so sorry.”

Which was something Ray tried his best not to think about. It sounded like he was going to be in an accident or something and he could only hope it wasn’t something serious. That it wasn’t going to be some asshole hitting him with his car. Thankfully, it turned out not to be anything that serious. A man he didn’t have time to recognize had bumped into him in the airport just as he got his bag off the conveyor belt at luggage claim. The man apologized and Ray just shook his head with a muttered “Don’t worry man, nothing worth anything in here anyways.” The man froze and introduced himself as Jack Pattillo, Ray laughed because of all the ways to meet his ride this was the best.

On the drive to what would be his new home, Jack’s shirt rode up and he could see the word “anyways” across the man’s side.

The first date he was supposed to have ended up canceled because of work so he spent the time with Jack instead. He got to know the bearded man before any of the others- except Michael really- and Ray found himself relaxing. Jack even talked about the fact that he had five soul sentences- about how Geoff did, and Michael did too. He started to say some other names but they flew over Ray’s head as he wondered why Michael had never brought the subject up before. Why Michael hadn’t even approached the subject.

Across Ray’s shoulder blades were the words “You’ll be working with us then?”

They were fairly common to hear once he actually joined Rooster Teeth. So much so that he didn’t think anything of it when Gavin said them to him. It wasn’t until Gavin seemed to smile bigger at his own response of “Yeah, Geoff wanted at least one actually good player.” Though it wasn’t until Gavin started muttering about how “bloody top” it was to finally find all of his soul mates that Ray even realized what was going on. Every meeting with his soulmates seemed like a surprise at this point, so it was almost a novelty when Gavin burst out smiling and rambling about how he “couldn’t wait for you to meet Ryan!”

Gavin was an experience.

A breath of fresh air, a new laugh, a generally positive feeling even when the man felt darker himself. Every moment getting to know the brit felt like a party and it was amazing. The man even brought him back to Michael- and between the three of them they finally broke ground on the whole “soul mate” thing. He finally got his answer of why Michael never brought up the words- and even if it hurt it was his fault too. He could have brought up the subject at any point when they two of them talked.

Stretching across both of his legs on the front of his body just below his waist were the words, “Newest troublemaker?”

Geoff was the one to introduce him to Ryan Haywood. He’d brought Ray aside and dragged him to the warehouse just to make sure that the Puerto Rican would know everyone they’d be recording with at the very least. Ryan had responded with those words- his eyes locked right with Ray’s and unblinking even as Ray got the feeling he was being sized up. Ray had only smiled back and told the man, “Latest edition with lazer eyes.” The spark of recognition in those intense eyes couldn’t have been imagined- and they left his for a moment to confirm with Geoff that this really was who he thought.

Ray could never decide if he was more excited the day he’d looked in the mirror and knew exactly whose words were stamped across his skin- or the day he’d joined the relationship and got to see his words along their skin.


	2. Ryan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special shout out to Ems for helping me with Ryan's sentences

Ryan had never thought that his soul sentences were really soul sentences. After all, he’d never met another person with five of them. Nor did anyone he met have as dumb sentences as he did. For the longest time, he was convinced that his mother had gotten him tattooed as a babe. It wasn’t something unheard of to be born without a soulsentence, and if you found the right person they’d give your child something that would bring them false hope their entire life. Which Ryan couldn’t really blame them for, they just wanted their child to feel like they were normal.

Born of a pair who weren’t soulmates, Ryan had figured that they just wanted to give him what they had never had.

He couldn’t blame them for that- even when he hated each letter that would stare back at him in the mirror. They weren’t real- it just wasn’t possible. It wasn’t plausible. He’d stopped himself just short of trying anything to get rid of them a few times. Even if they were fake- even if they were just his parent’s idea of a joke..They were all he had for hope of ever having a soulmate. So he’d just ignore them on most days.

So when he’d been looking for a job, he pretended that he wasn’t using craigslist because of the sentence across his stomach; “I can’t believe you actually answered my shitty craigslist ad!”

Faced with the words coming right out of Geoff’s mouth though, he felt the dying hope he’d always had spark up. Maybe he wasn’t sentenceless- maybe his parents hadn’t pitied him in the way he’d thought. Maybe, just maybe, he did have five soulmates and was luckier for it. Or maybe he was getting carried away and not even answering the man because he was so shocked and god shouldn’t he have said something by now? Ryan smiled, taking Geoff’s offered hand and shaking it, deciding that the subject was better not to bring up. “I thought it was a joke at first.”

Ryan would always remember the way Geoff’s eyes lit up in recognition and the smile that followed.

Working with Rooster Teeth had been an amazing opportunity that Ryan was always glad he’d gotten. The work was satisfying and each day was something he looked forward to. Getting to spend some time with Geoff daily was just icing on the cake. He had a soul mate. An honest to God soul mate who worked with him, accepted him, and didn’t even blame him for being skeptical about soul mates. Hell, eventually when Ryan had shared some of the other sentences Geoff had debated with him who they’d belong to. Though the man seemed to have a pretty good idea about two of them.

"Bloody hell, dude, you’re hot!" Had greeted him when he’d popped his head into the Achievement Hunter office to ask Geoff to lunch. 

Geoff hadn’t been in the office, but there’d been a skinny British kid instead. Ryan raised an eyebrow as he ran his eyes over the man because he had those words in between his shoulder blades. The kid didn’t even know his name but already was hitting on him. Ryan wasn’t sure if he was impressed or wanted to laugh. Instead he settled for saying, “Well, if they’d just fix the air conditioning already…” and smiling when the kid laughed in surprise. There was a bit of bickering over what he’d meant before the Brit introduced himself as Gavin. Ryan smiled, wondering if this was the Gavin from his other sentence too.

On his left thigh were the words, “Excuse me- sorry to bother you but- have you seen Gavin?”

An attractive bearded man had come into the warehouse before wondering over to his desk, smiling and focusing his attention on Ryan. He’d asked that and Ryan wondered if all of his soul mates would be working here. Scooting back, he dropped his hand to exactly where those words lay idly and asked, “The one with the hot British accent?” He watched as the other man fought through a myriad of emotions before giving up his search for Gavin to talk to Ryan instead. They found Gavin together a few hours later when Ryan had walked Jack back to the office- he’d been out at lunch.

Wrapped around the bicep of his right arm was a sentence he heard at work while fixing a computer at Geoff’s request; “You know, some people introduce themselves before touching another person’s computer.”

"And some people know to keep dust out of their tower." Ryan responded without thinking before realizing what had been said. He crawled out from under the table and turned to face the newest soul mate of the set. Michael stared back at him, arms crossed. When Michael said he knew that, Ryan just raised an eyebrow and waited. Eventually Michael gave in and Ryan taught him things to look out for, how often to do it, and even ended up exchanging numbers with the boy. He’s not sure why he ended up with Michael’s number before he ever got Geoff’s.

Ryan spent months growing closer with the four soulmates and wondering when the fifth would show up.

When Geoff introduced the newest Achievement Hunter, Ryan just smiled. They needed someone who was actually good at games- and according to Michael and the one or two things he’d seen himself, Ray was pretty damn good. He also helped even out the ages a little more- three young lads, three older gents. It was a balance that made sense and felt right beyond just work but Ryan couldn’t figure out why until he’d asked “Newest troublemaker?” When the response was the last sentence- the one that laid directly over his heart- all he could do was look to Geoff and silently confirm that this really was the last of their pieces.

Ryan had never thought that he’d have five soul mates, but he wasn’t about to complain when he was given them anyways.


	3. Michael

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special shout out to Katie for being amazing and helping me figure out the sentences for this one. <3

Michael had been ready to meet his soulmate. Or soulmates, really. He had been ready since the day he turned five, saw himself in the mirror, and had to ask his Momma what “jacking off” was. He’d been ready when he turned nine and was convinced that one day he’d have a tower in a castle, covered in dust. He’d been ready when he turned 11 and started looking up chariots. He was when 13 and knew that his soul mate would be poor. He was ready the night he turned 15 and had an awkward sleepover where someone had read his spine to him. He’d been ready to meet his soulmates before he ever went to school- but they didn’t seem ready to meet him because he had to wait years on end until he finally heard a sentence he never thought he would.

"Want me to start jacking off the sniper rifle or?" said the calmest voice Michael had ever heard during a game of Halo.

Immediately he’d sent a message with his skype information. He was finally going to meet his soulmate. He really had a soulmate! He was so excited that he actually missed the contact request at first and spent twenty minutes wondering if he wasn’t matched at all. Their first skype conversation went by a lot less awkward than Michael had thought- Ray, as he’d learned the name of his first soulmate was, had a skill for keeping him distracted. The man effortlessly changed the conversation topic, wove in some snarky humor, and even left some words that he could swear might have been flirting.

He’d typed out “So, I’ve got your words on my chest. Soulmates, huh?” a hundred times.

The words would stare him down and they just didn’t seem right. So he’d try to rewrite them- “I think you’re my soulmate” - but it felt awkward. Another try and he had “I’ve got a sentence of yours on my chest.” No matter how many times he rewrote it, no matter how many times he tried to bring the subject up with hints, it never worked out. Plus, Ray didn’t seem to ever talk about soul mates either. After two weeks of struggling day after damn day, Michael gave up the topic and just let their friendship grow.

At the very least, he’d hold onto Ray that way.

So he’d ignore the way his heart would speed up just the slightest when the Puerto Rican came online. He’d ignore the way the stress seemed to melt away after only a few minutes talking to him. He’d ignore the way his hands would type paragraph upon paragraph about soulmates when the man was offline. Instead, he’d tell Ray about Rooster Teeth contacting him and let himself be distracted by the prospect.

Geoff had to extend the offer twice because the first time Michael hadn’t felt like it was worth moving for.

A few months, a phone call with Burnie, a skype call with Ray, and he’d changed his mind. He agreed and was going to be working with Achievement Hunter in Austin, Texas. Ray had congratulated him- and then their every day talks started to dwindle. Each one gave way for a conversation on AIM with Geoff over what he’d be doing. Who he’d be working with. Current ideas they were starting on- and even who would be picking him up from the airport.

Down his right arms were the words, “Your chariot awaits, my lord.” 

He’d never expected his ride to have a sign. They’d sent him a picture of Jack so he knew who he was looking for, and he knew the man would laugh at the idea that Michael spent the entire trip in his suit. He didn’t know that there’d be a sign saying “Mr. Jones” in pink. Even better, it was in pink glitter glue with flowers and hearts all around it. He can tell the sign is cardboard because one of the corners is bent, a green and black bow that doesn’t match anything clearly having been shoved onto it even though it couldn’t support it. Michael is laughing all the way down to luggage claim, and he can’t even properly say anything because he doesn’t have air.

Especially when Jack says those words, and his lungs feel like they might collapse.

Jack is one of his soul mates. He’ll be going to be living with a soul mate and all of the anxiety hits him at once because at least with Ray there was a screen between them if they weren’t matched. As quickly as the panic came, it left because he’d said something he couldn’t remember and Jack’s eyes had lit up with such hope that it was hard not to calm down. The entire ride to his new home they talked about soul sentences, but Michael didn’t tell Jack about Ray. Too sore of a subject, and soul mates or not he’d just met the guy. He had no idea what he could trust Jack with yet.

Michael didn’t have time to be worrying about new soul mates anyways, he had a job to figure out.

Which turns out to be harder than he thought when he’s introduced to Geoff. Geoff eyes him and they both stare in silence until Michael is sure even Jack is uncomfortable. “You’re the guy in charge, right?” It felt stupid leaving his lips, it had to have been stupid because Jack was hiding a smile, and it was stupid because Geoff was full out grinning at him. He was getting ready to say something else and bury himself in embarrassment when Geoff spoke up, repeating words that had worried Michael his soul mate would be poor.

"Nah, I’m just the janitor." was Geoff’s soul sentence on Michael, and it gloated from just above his left ankle.

Jack left them with a smile, and they spoke. Geoff assured him he didn’t need to feel pressured to somehow be the perfect soul mate or even think about it at all. In fact, it’d be fine if he wanted to ignore it completely. The man was far too understanding in the exact wrong way that Michael actually snorted and shook his head. He’d only had time to confide that he’d always wanted to be a great soul mate before there was a horrible sound from somewhere outside the office. It sounded like a dying bird and Michael followed Geoff out to see if he could help the poor thing. There wasn’t any bird, but a lean man half drenched.

"What is that awful squawking?" Michael asked, hand rubbing at his temple.

There was a shared look between Geoff and Jack he couldn’t make out, because he was too focused on the response the newest man had given him. “I wasn’t squawking, Jack bloody threw stuff at me!” The words were on his back, in a column down his spine like bad poetry. He didn’t bring it up. Instead, he spent time getting to know Gavin, Jack, and Geoff. He let himself slowly fall in love with them, convinced it’d be okay because even if they didn’t end up loving him back he’d always have their sentences right?

Not that he actually had to worry about that, he got a straight forward accidental invitation to a date of theirs and they spent the time making sure he knew how much they wanted him to join them.

It was only a week into his new relationship with them that he walked into the Achievement Hunter office to see a man fucking with his computer. He watched them for a moment, trying to tell if they were actually trying to fuck him over or if they were just doing some sort of maintenance. He couldn’t really tell from the angle so he crossed his arms and spoke out, “You know, some people introduce themselves before touching another person’s computer.”.

Above both his knees was the man’s response, “And some people know to keep dust out of their tower.”

He flushed slightly, and had never been more glad for the way his skin was already red. It was barely noticeable, and he was able to mumble out an “I knew that…” after an embarrassingly long pause. When the man introduced himself as Ryan, he gave in and let his soul mate show him how to properly take care of his computer. (He really did know how, he just wanted to hear Ryan talk for a bit longer- the office was too quiet without some sort of conversation.) By the time the other’s had gotten back he’d given Ryan his number so he could “warn me next time you’re gonna touch my fucking computer.”

Then Ray was hired and everyday became a physical strain.

It hurt because Ray accepted them. Ray accepted Jack, Geoff, and even ended up spending more time with Gavin than him because he just couldn’t bring himself to go. Ray had already made it pretty clear they weren’t matched, and now he got to hear great stories about how Ray was matched with everyone else. He ditched a few dates in favor of staying home, letting his frustration out in a few video games and definitely not avoiding Halo. Also definitely didn’t spend one day just crying in the shower- which only Jack could prove and the man would never tell something that private.

Ray was matched with everyone but him. 

And it was fucking awful because he found Ray first. Ray was his first soul mate but Michael didn’t have a right to be possessive about that or gloat about it because Michael was not Ray’s. Instead he watched the other four fall for Ray just like he had, drawn in by the humor that had turned so many of his days around years ago that now only made it worse. He tried his best not to let it show. Not to let his jealousy turn into anger when he had to watch Gavin slide over to Ray instead of him. Not to let it turn when Jack started taking Ray out for what had been their Wednesday lunches (technically he was still invited but he just couldn’t). Not to let it explode when Ryan started offering to help Ray with some technical glitches, almost completely ignoring Michael. And most definitely not to let it show when Geoff asked Ray to join their relationship and no one had ever bothered to ask him how he felt about that.

He’d thought about leaving.

Michael had honestly thought about packing his shit and leaving. Maybe not quitting Achievement Hunter, but breaking up with the boys and moving somewhere else. Somewhere in Austin where it wouldn’t matter that he and Ray weren’t Matched. Somewhere in Austin where he could bury his envy, his rage, and his broken heart in alcohol without Gavin waking him up on Saturday and asking why he hadn’t invited him to the bev party. 

Even if the men he loved were all really Ray’s, it’d be okay because he’d always have their words.

Little pieces of them that had been with him all his life and would never leave him, even if they did. So he’d packed a bag and had a talk with Lindsay. He would stay with her until he could get his shit together. The only problem was that Gavin had caught him trying to sneak out. And apparently, Jack wasn’t as trust worthy as Michael had thought because he’d told Gavin about the shower day. He’d told Gavin what Michael had told him about Ray and now Gavin was attacking him, stopping him from leaving before he could get hurt anymore.

That’s the first thing that happened when Gavin literally pulled Ray into anyways.

"We’re not soulmates, Gavin." Ray had said, gesturing between the two of them. 

"I told you, moron." Michael muttered out, eyes directly to the left of Ray’s head. He didn’t want to see the pitying eyes of either of them. "He’s only got four sentences."

"What? I have five."

"You both have five you mingy little codfishes!" Gavin exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Codfish?" Ray asked with an amused smile.

"Tick, tock. Tick, tock." Michael taunted, tilting his head from side to side.

"I’m not a codfish, I’m not a codfish!" They shared a laugh and Michael tried to back away from the conversation but Gavin wouldn’t let them.

"You both have five." He repeated.

"And?" Michael asked, frustrated.

"If Michael was matched with me, he would have brought it up." Ray mumbled, barely even audible.

"I tried! I tried to say ‘Hey I’ve got this sentence about jacking off a sniper rifle on my chest, think that’s you?’ so many times but you never brought up soul mates so I just assumed you’d added me because I got your humor."

"Wait, wait. You’ve got that on your chest?"

"Yeah. I know we’re not matched, I’m sorry that now you have to know that some fucking asshole has your words on his chest."

"I have yours on my arm."

“What?” Michael stepped back as Ray lifted the sleeve of his shirt and Michael had to stop himself from running his fingers over the sentence he’d said so long ago. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or cry. “Why didn’t you ever…”

"You didn’t either. I thought you just wanted someone to rage at…Am I really…"

"Bolded over my pecs like a book title? Yeah. My poor Mom had to try to find an explanation for ‘jacking off’ when I was five." Michael smiled fondly at the memory, before pulling his shirt up and over his head. He felt a hand on his spine and had to hold back a laugh. "Really Gavin?"

"I just like touching the little bit of me that’s on you." The brit replied.

"That’s creepy as fuck." Ray laughed, and Michael felt a stress slowly starting to drain away from him.

Michael Jones was lucky enough to have five soul mates, and even luckier to be matched with every one of them.


	4. Jack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry about the wait. I honestly thought I'd moved over all 6 of these.

Jack didn’t actually have any soul sentences. He was born as a smooth blank slate, and he had never thought it weird. Not until he got to middle school and people started sharing them in dumb games. He’d asked his parents on his first day of highschool if something was wrong with him, but they’d just told him that some people didn’t have soulmates and that it was okay.

He had always felt like something was missing when he looked in the mirror.

There should be at least one word somewhere. A “Hello”, a “thanks”, a “oh”- anything but the empty skin that stared back at him and told him for years that he was broken. A blank skin that had been haunting him because he knew that it wasn’t supposed to be blank. There was nothing wrong with not having soul mates but he did- Jack just knew he did. There were sentences that he’d hear in the empty rooms he’d walked through alone, and in the dreams he could never remember, that made him absolutely sure he had some. That something had just gone wrong when he was born and they hadn’t been placed where they were supposed to be.

It wasn’t until he met Geoff Fink that he understood.

He’d been invited along for a game of poker, which wasn’t unusual. What was unusual was that he was the only new face there- which was something he’d been promised wouldn’t happen. They knew that one of the sentences that haunted him was the first thing that Geoff ever said to him- “Are you sure you’re old enough to play poker?”

It’d been something he was sure was supposed to be over his heart.

The words would start from just under his collar bone and be three lines. He’d glanced back at the friend who’d dragged him here before turning his attention back to Geoff and answering slowly. He’d had this feeling in his gut he couldn’t explain as Geoff’s eyes lit up to the words; “Well they got tired of me stealing all the 9s in Go Fish.” Jack just knew that somehow the world was right in that moment- that everything was perfect even though he couldn’t explain it. 

He never thought he’d actually meet a soulmate.

Hell, he didn’t even think he really had one. He thought he was broken- incompletely- and without even a single match. So when confronted by Geoff after the game, he didn’t expect the man to shrug his shoulders. To tell him that not having them was pretty normal- that it happened a lot with premature births- that Joel didn’t have his but got his tattooed on by a specialist. He’d been so understanding to the point that he still wanted to at least be Jack’s friend if he wasn’t his soulmate and that was when Jack knew he was fucked.

So he tried to explain.

Thankfully, the Joel situation made it a little easier. Unfortunately, it also made it a bit harder because he had to explain that it wasn’t just one sentence. That it was five. Five floating around and constantly echoing in empty rooms. Five haunting his dreams and making his blank skin itch. Geoff takes it way better than expected and surprises Jack again because- Geoff has five too. 

When he agrees to go to dinner with Geoff, he learns he should just always be surprised.

Staring Achievement Hunter is hard work. It’s hours upon hours of researching, of playing the latest video games to find easter eggs, of discovering the quickest way to get all the achievements. It’s hours upon hours of his life and time he puts into it, but he loves every moment of it. Even still, he’s glad when Geoff tells them they’re getting a new kid. Some fresh blood will be wonderful. It’s not so wonderful when Geoff decides the best way for them to bond is to play Miniature Golf though.

Because it’s just awkward silence and a putter that keeps brushing his ass.

The british asshole hasn’t said a word to him, he’s just been chatting Geoff up and ‘casually’ dragging his putter right over Jack’s rear end. It’s getting increasingly more annoying because the first few he could let go, but the idiot isn’t even fucking acknowledging him and it’s driving him insane. Honestly, it’s just fucking dumb at this point. So when he snaps, even Geoff looks slightly more annoyed than amused. “If you hit my ass with that putter one more time…”

"You’ll let me kiss it better?"

Jack can’t help the laugh that bubbles over even as his eyes light up with shock. Two. He’s found two. Even if one is a complete and utter bastard, it’s perfect. Gavin is the one who eventually convinces him to get the sentences tattooed. He can’t get them all done- so he just gets them done in the order that feels right. Gavin’s is the second tattoo he gets and it’s an awkward affair because Jack had to get it on his ass.

The third tattoo he gets on his upper left arm, and the entire time his tattoo artist of choice is joking about how they’re surprised it’s not on his other cheek, says “The one with the hot British accent?”

He hadn’t expected to hear it while looking for Gavin. He just needed to find the idiot for Geoff, who wanted to go over some new idea with the kid. So it’d been about the 7th time he’d said it when the man in the warehouse replied with those words and his arm almost ached. Jack stood in awe for a full five minutes, wondering if this really was his soulmate. If they world would actually let him be so lucky when he hadn’t even had words to begin with. He introduces himself and gives up his search for Gavin reluctantly- if Geoff really needed the Brit immediately he would have just called him- choosing to learn more about Ryan instead.

"Well shit, you knew about the tux didn’t you?" wraps down his left leg.

It gets tattooed the first time he hears the name “Michael Jones”. Jack just knows he needs to have it, even though he’s not sure why he has such hope for it. There’s no thought into agreeing to house Michael. No thought behind agreeing to pick him up from the airport. It just feels right, seems right, so he does it without question. Right until he’s standing at the end of a ramp at a busy airport with a sign that looks like it was made by a bunch of preschoolers. Jack wonders what his life has become that this is what he’s doing on a weekday, though the anxiety melts away when he sees Michael come off the ramp in a suit. He jokes about a chariot and then his leg positively burns when Michael replies between laughs.

He gets “Don’t worry man, nothing worth anything in here anyways.” down his right side two days before Ray comes into town.

This time, he’s ready. He knows that he’s going to meet them. Jack has no doubt- because he’s not broken. He’s not incomplete. He’s got five soulmates, and he’s going to be luckier than most with one because he just knows he’s going to meet them all. Yet he’s still surprised when it’s Ray who says it and he freezes completely because his side feels like someone kicked it. There’s a moment where he has to hold himself back because he’s met them all. Because he’s no longer Jack the Bare. Then he lets himself push it aside because the poor dude just flew in and looks lost.

Jack was born with blank skin, but he found five soulmates anyways.


	5. Gavin

"Dude, why do you play?" was on Gavin’s neck.

It’d been the start of Gavin’s problems, and the first soul sentence he’d ever seen. He’d find out later that the majority of them were just in areas that weren’t as obvious. For most of his life, he’d ignored it. He’d made friends, grown up, and stayed out of the dumb games about soulmates. Then he’d met Dan, watched Red versus Blue, and found himself caring. Maybe, if he was lucky enough, his soul mate was an amazingly important person. Maybe, if he was lucky enough, his soul mate was the writer.

He didn’t really think they were, but he liked to fantasize. Okay, so it may have gone a bit far and he may have maybe stalked one Geoff Ramsey on the man’s guilty pleasure mmorpg even though he sucks at them. It was totally worth it, even though he was clearly upsetting everyone in the party -including Geoff- with his awful warlock skills, because as soon as the man pulled him aside for vent and said those words! The ones lined down his neck, he nearly cried at his luck. (He settled for responding with “Because I know you do” and then dealt with the consequences of maybe being slightly stalkerish.)

He was surprised when he was offered a job a few years later- he hadn’t been expecting it at all.

Even better than that, however, was that his soulmate offered him a home. A place to live together and get to know each other. Geoff had jokingly said that Gavin would end up knowing where he lived either way, but even still it was one of the best things to ever happen to him. The first best being Geoff talking to him at all, the second best being Burnie agreeing to hire him. (Fourth best was Burnie becoming fond of him, though it quickly lost a few pegs when Gavin started to discover his other sentences but it never fell off his top ten.)

In between his shoulder blades- as Dan had pointed out to him once- was probably the dumbest sentence among them all; “If you hit my ass with that putter one more time…”

When Geoff invited him out for minigolf, he’d had this feeling in his gut that it was important he remembered that sentence. That he needed to remember that it was one of his soul sentences. The look Geoff kept giving him only cemented the feeling. However, meeting Jack made him forget about it completely and focus on annoying the attractive man anyway he could, his favorite way involving excuses to lay hands or putter on what really could only be described as a perfect ass. Seriously, that man’s ass was sin on legs and Gavin wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his life finding out it’s secrets.

Which he was sure he’d get to do when Jack finally burst and spoke out against him- making his back feel like it was on fire.

Gavin loved working at Rooster Teeth. He loved helping with Achievement Hunter. He loved living with Geoff and flustering Jack. But when a new guy walked into their office while Geoff and Jack were at lunch, he couldn’t help but slip up because bloody hell, the man was hot. What was he supposed to do, lie? It probably helped that Ryan’s reply was on the back of his right thigh, and that he knew for a fact Ryan was one of Geoff’s soulmates. He still ended up in an argument with Jack over his words though, but he didn’t care because Ryan had taken them in stride and just laughed and it felt right.

Ryan was the one who pointed out that Gavin had words on the back of his neck as well.

He’d had to get Jack to read them to him, and between the two of them they couldn’t come up with why anyone would ask him what awful squawking was. It wasn’t like they ever worked with macaws, after all. But then Michael Jones had finally agreed to work for Rooster Teeth and Jack had come to warn him to be nice to the newbie- and then thrown an apple at him. It’d been just shy of a food fight when Michael had come out and asked a question that the other three knew was going to end up changing their lives again.

It was wonderful to be able to touch someone lightly on the back and just know that under your fingers- that along their spine- were your words.

Gavin loved seeing his words on the boys. He loved seeing a little part of him and knowing that it’d always be with them. Loved being able to trace his fingers across the dumb things he’d said to them and know that he’d been with them for their whole lives. (Even Jack- the man didn’t have to have the sentences tattooed to have them with him.) When Ray came to work for Rooster Teeth, Gavin found that he wasn’t any exception.

In the middle of his back, bolded against his pale skin, “Yeah, Geoff wanted at least one actually good player.” stared at him.

It’d been the reason he’d originally decided to not-stalk Geoff on the game he could totally play. It’d been the reason he’d let himself have dumb fantasies about working for the company he did now- working with the people he did now. And now it was the reason he brought Ray and Michael together and told them bluntly that they both had five. And then repeated it for what felt like hours until the two of them finally broke and confessed to each other.

Gavin had five soul mates, and he’d be damned if he spent any more of his life without a single one of them.


	6. Geoff

When he was six, Geoff’s mother had pulled him into her lap and whispered stories into his ear. She’d tell him about how the brave dragon had saved the princess from the evil queen, and then would tell him that he was a prince. That as a prince he must always do his best to serve his kingdom and treat everyone kindly. He’d taken it to heart and promised her that he would be the best little prince she could want, but only if she promised that she wouldn’t make him marry a maiden. He’d read the stories at school- he didn’t want to end up with someone who only liked him because he was a prince. She laughed but promised, and told him that he had five very special people waiting for him.

A few years later, at age ten, she pulled him into her lap again and grumbled that he was far too large for much more of this. His mother pulled him close to her chest and spoke softly, warning him that the world would not always be as it should. Geoff cradled his right arm closer and held back his tears- he was a strong young prince and he wasn’t going to cry. Not over a tiny wound that only hurt as much as it did because it ran straight through words that meant nothing to him yet. When he told his mother as such, she smiled kindly. The words will mean everything to you someday, but sometimes they will not always lead you where you want to go. She had told him, before bringing him to the bathroom and helping him wash up.

It wouldn’t be until much later in his life, when he’d been through a messy divorce with someone whose words didn’t match his own that Geoff would learn why she’d said that. His mother had been matched with a horrible lady, one who had come to visit once when he was young. The woman was vile, stank of cigarettes, and had tried to take Mother away. His dad had stopped her and, looking back, he finally got the story. He finally got why a dragon could save someone, for the soul sentences did not always mean a happy ending.

Honestly, as he grew older, he’d lost interest in finding them. He had five sentences, five people who would change his life, five chances, and five people who could easily kidnap the prince to take over his kingdom. It was awful, to think of people he’d never met that way but when he watched the way his mother would wince whenever her eyes would find the words on her leg- he never doubted that maybe it was better he didn’t meet any of them.

Jack Pattillo was a blank slate and Geoff envied him for it. There were no words on the man, just smooth skin in a world that would pity him for it. He had the chance to avoid it all. To tell the soulmate nonsense to fuck off and leave him alone because he didn’t have to be paired. He didn’t have to sit and wonder if one day his soulmate would come home reeking with a fist curled, waiting for action. Yet, when the man spoke to him for the first time, Geoff didn’t feel that worry. He felt like something had clicked inside him, and the words on his right arm burned in a way that should not have felt pleasant. Especially not with the old scar stretched over them.

No matter how nice it felt, no matter how wonderful it all seemed to be, no matter how kind Jack’s eyes looked…Geoff couldn’t take the chance away. So he bit back the rush he’d felt, smiled, and confronted the man when the game had ended. Assured him not having the words was normal, even if he knew them. Explained that he didn’t owe Geoff shit because of some words on his arm. Even still, he couldn’t fully let him go- there was a need for this man to be in his life. A hope that he’d remain of his own will. An offer to be friends at the very least took him by surprise with how desperate his own voice sounded. Thankfully, Jack seemed not to hear it. The man agrees to dinner easily enough, and the two of them fall into a companionship that’s so easy Geoff forgets that Jack hasn’t always been there.

Starting Achievement Hunter with him just feels right. There’s no other way he could have started this. No other way it could have began. Or, at least, that’s what the mark seems to scream at him as he runs his fingers idly over the letters on his right arm while Jack’s at lunch. Always with him, it promises, always protecting him. Somehow, even though he still wonders if the room will smell of smoke some days, his worry eases the more time he spends around Jack. Soulmates can be alright, he supposes, but they’re still not safe.

Especially when they stalk you.

He’d just wanted some relaxing time. Some time to kill shit online and get to brag about it to Jack later when they went on their not-date dinner. Instead, he’d wound up trying to avoid a player who had literally tried to join every party he was in. For a week. Did the server have any policies about this? Nope. Mods told him he was just being unfriendly and to suck it up. Wonderful. So he let the damn kid into a group and then tried to drown his frustration when the dude clearly couldn’t even play a fucking warlock. He had needed that epic drop to complete his new armor set. He’d sent a private message with a vent id, getting ready to yell because he would be damned if he was going to face Jack upset.

Only, nothing went the way he fucking wanted it to because now he had a new soulmate.

With a canceled dinner and a quick talk, Geoff had to figure out how to break it to Jack that he’d found one of the other four. He couldn’t bring it up. He just couldn’t. What if they didn’t match? What if Jack hated Gavin? What if Gavin had Jack’s but Jack didn’t have Gavin’s? What if he put one of them in trouble by trying to get them to meet? What if, what if, what if, what if?

What if they matched and Jack decided he only wanted one soulmate- Gavin?

So Geoff put it off. He didn’t bring it up, stopped having his “not-dates” and did his best to ignore the way Jack seemed hurt by that. The prince of a castle with no servants, no knights, no king or queen, not even a dragon to keep him company for he was starting to send them all away. It was dumb as dicks, yet he kept at it until Burnie offered Gavin the job. There was no way around it. They were going to meet each other, they were going to match- Geoff had spent enough time talking to both to know they’d love each other- and he’d lose the first soulmate he’d ever had. Hell, he was going to lose the first two. No doubt he’d lose the next three just as quickly.

Geoff was not meant for soulmates, he was meant for leading and protecting.

So that’s what he did. He pushed down the worries he had, ignored the heavy feeling in his chest, and invited them both to minigolf. They’d be happiest and safest with each other. He’d still watch over them, as the friend they’d hopefully want, and keep them loved. Geoff spent half the day just chatting with Gavin, letting himself imagine that the three of them were on a date for just a bit, and trying not to laugh at the childish behavior. It would do Jack good, to laugh at stupid things again instead of worrying over everything.

Gavin would be living with him, though Geoff doubted it would be for long after the way Jack seemed to love being in the brit’s company. Gavin was even the one who’d convinced Jack to get the tattoos that his birth denied him. They were so perfectly balanced with each other that Geoff honestly didn’t notice that it was him who was causing said balance by standing as a safe ground between them. He was absolutely convinced that he’d never really make it past friends with the two of them- which he was absolutely fine with- when Jack was the one who surprised him for once.

His words were the first tattoo Jack ever got, across his heart in three lines of three words each.

No one can prove that he may or may not have cried at the gestured, and no one can prove that he was dragged to dinner by the two soulmates he’d gathered so far. Or that he sat squished between them because Gavin refused to have his own side and Jack enjoyed the warmth of Geoff tucked into his side. It was like a dream, to be able to sit with them and feel like he belonged there when Jack’s arm slid over his shoulder. To laugh when Gavin managed to get ketchup on all three of them and wound their tomato stained hands together with a smile. It felt like hope, it felt like love, and it almost felt like home. It just wasn’t complete yet. His right arm, his neck, they were only two of five.

Then it was three out of five because an attractive man with an intellect answered his fucking craiglist ad.

Suddenly there’s three soulmates instead of two and he has no idea how to deal with any of them. How to show them that he cares for them all without pushing them into thinking they had to force themselves to be with him. So, for the most part, he just remains friends with them all. Makes no secret that they’re matched- especially when he starts to notice some wandering eyes on his boys. Friends, family, soulmate, lovers, he didn’t care what relationships they had or what anyone said- they were his. Because that was a healthy thought when you couldn’t even admit to going on dates with one of them.

Ryan is wonderful. He doesn’t push, doesn’t force, doesn’t even cling to another soulmate. He simply lets them come to him and doesn’t mind whatever comes out of it. Allowing their relationships to develop naturally. It’s a relief for Geoff, to not have to worry about how one of them will think if he just wants lunch with someone he likes to spend time around. Or maybe just some quiet time in the office, when editing has given him a headache. Ryan wouldn’t care if Geoff came in, sat on his lap, and starting making out with him. (Not that he would, but he did test the sitting on his lap once and Ryan just raised an eyebrow before placing a hand on Geoff’s back and rubbing soothingly.) With Ryan to assure him, Jack to ground him, and Gavin to cheer him, Geoff starts to relax around them more but he can’t do anything about the way he tenses when they mention the other sentences.

Right arm, neck, left leg, and now his chest.

Michael Jones came to work for them and it was exactly what Geoff didn’t need. Another to add to the clusterfuck of soulmates that he couldn’t figure out where to place in his life. Hell, even they seemed not to know what to do with him. Probably were even starting to regret admitting being matched to him. So when they’d been left alone for the briefest of moments, he told the man not to worry about being matched. That it was fine for him to ignore it, not to worry about being the perfect soulmate, how it didn’t need to mean anything- when Michael had cut him off with news that made his breath catch. Michael had always wanted to be a great soulmate. For the tiniest of moments, Geoff let himself hope while Michael went to meet Gavin.

The four of them all matched each other, which both relieved Geoff and set him on edge.

One left. He’d seen some of the sentences on the others and it looked like it was possible but…Then he’d had a talk with Michael. Whoever the first soulmate he’d met with was, they didn’t match. When Geoff asked if he was really sure, he just got ignored. On the bright side, Michael didn’t have that same reaction when he asked the man out. It was odd, but even with all of his doubts, he realized that he had been the one to ask everyone to join so far. A prince took what he wanted, but asked for what was just out of reach. Geoff let himself be happy with the four men and wished that he’d never have to keep his Just Friends promise.

Yet, as he found himself constantly being the one left behind, he feared he might have to.

People paired off. It was natural. Michael got to know Jack better, since the two of them were living together, and often spent all his time bothering the bearded man about something rather dumb. Last time it was whether or not beards were attractive. Gavin was absolutely besotted with Ryan and was constantly testing the man’s seemingly unlimited patience for what if questions- something he used to do with Geoff instead. It was fine. They were still his boys, even if he wasn’t necessarily theirs.

Ray was something he wasn’t expecting. He wasn’t expecting a man full of smiles that would make roses bloom with an awful humor that left him shaking his head with a small smile. He definitely wasn’t expecting to be matched to said man as his final soulmate before he ever knew what he looked like. Hell, he’d only known that Ray was going to come work for them and that Michael had even given a recommendation and vouched for his humor. 

He had them all.

Five soulmates and Geoff had not only found them all, but captured them all and brought them to his castle. He’d been spoiled with them and as a prince he let himself think he deserved them, spending his time doing what he could to make them happy. Though he couldn’t do anything for Michael or Ray. The two of them had to sort their shit out, because Geoff had been the one who had to listen to Jack sound like a wrecked, broken man when he mentioned that Michael had thought about leaving. He’d been the one to tell Gavin to get the two other lads to fucking make out already because good god, everyone could see there was something between them. Thankfully, with a few removed shirts and apologies that couldn’t quite make up for lost time, they seemed to have figured it out and Geoff let himself fully relax for the first time since meeting Jack.

The Prince felt content to stand by his kingdom, proud of the true treasures he had gathered, even if he felt they were not earned.


End file.
